Chapter Summaries

Yu Ziyu treated Honey Badger and the Wind Wolves in a newly made lake with Life Essence, while his roots drew power from an underground Spiritual River. Elsewhere, Yan Gaoyuan reported the dangerous mountains to an old man, who designated them a Yellow Warning Zone under priority surveillance.

• Yu Ziyu dug a large pit, diverted a mountain stream into it, and made a lake.
• Yu Ziyu lowered Honey Badger and several Wind Wolves into the lake, then added Life Essence to help them recover.
• Yu Ziyu observed his underground roots growing rapidly as they absorbed energy from a Spiritual River and concluded that Spiritual Qi-rich resources would become highly prized.
• Several days later, Yan Gaoyuan told an old man that the mountains had persistent mind-affecting fog and might contain a mutation or powerful Mutated Beasts.
• The old man designated the mountains a Yellow Warning Zone under priority surveillance and ordered that they be upgraded to a Red Danger Zone if unusual activity appeared.

Yu Ziyu considered the dangers of the post-revival world and watched his Mutated Beasts spar in Beiyu Canyon. After the red fox defeated the Honey Badger, Yu Ziyu named it Nine-Tails, leaving the fox as his most valued companion.

• Yan Gaoyuan told the old man that Ling'er had awakened a fire-element talent and agreed to bring her to visit.
• Yu Ziyu concluded that the lack of recent human reconnaissance meant Beiyu Canyon was unlikely to face trouble.
• Yu Ziyu assessed his own strength and the red fox's growth among the Mutated Beasts he had raised.
• The Honey Badger challenged the red fox, which knocked it to the ground with one paw.
• Yu Ziyu stroked the red fox and named it Nine-Tails.

Yu Ziyu named the black bison Bull Demon and carved its name into its horns to provoke future human speculation. Nine-Tails and the Wind Wolves brought their prey back to the canyon, where Yu Ziyu killed the animals to gain Evolution Points.

• Yu Ziyu named the black bison Bull Demon and carved the characters for its name into its two horns.
• Yu Ziyu planned to let humans discover the horn inscriptions once Bull Demon grew powerful, hoping to confuse them.
• Nine-Tails subdued a porcupine by a lake and carried it back toward the canyon.
• Nine-Tails encountered four Wind Wolves returning with prey of their own.
• Yu Ziyu killed the five surviving prey animals with his branches and received Evolution Points.

Yu Ziyu reflected on how to grow stronger and survive alongside humanity, deciding to build an empire of Mutated Beasts that could deter humans while leaving room for peaceful coexistence. He planned to nurture only the strongest members of certain species, gaining their groups’ loyalty without excessive cost.

• Yu Ziyu gained 60 Evolution Points from Nine-Tails and the Wind Wolves bringing prey back, bringing his total to 172.
• The White Crane reached Entry-Level Level 2, while the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey reached the third tier and awakened Extreme Absorption after consuming Yu Ziyu’s leaves.
• Yu Ziyu considered teaching Nine-Tails and the Wind Wolves to eat cooked food and develop their intelligence through human customs.
• Yu Ziyu concluded that humans and Mutated Beasts would struggle for survival unless he became powerful enough to deter humanity, so he resolved to build an empire of Mutated Beasts.
• Yu Ziyu decided to nurture the strongest Bull Demons and Wind Wolves so they could lead their own groups and provide him with herds and packs.

Yu Ziyu strengthened one of his branches and discovered it could secrete a paralyzing toxin. He tested it on Honey Badger, but the beast quickly recovered and resumed digging.

• Yu Ziyu spent 5 Evolution Points to strengthen a branch, which became tougher and gained the ability to secrete toxin.
• Yu Ziyu considered how strengthening all his branches could greatly improve his combat power, though he remained unable to leave the ground.
• Yu Ziyu noticed Honey Badger digging beneath the Tree Cage and decided to test the new toxin on it.
• Yu Ziyu pricked Honey Badger with the branch, briefly paralyzing it before it shook off the effect and continued digging.

Qing'er explained the honey badger’s greatly increased toxin resistance after mutation, revealing how much she had learned while controlling He Ling'er at the Spiritual Energy Research Institute. Yu Ziyu saw that He Ling'er had become a heavily favored prodigy there, while Qing'er rested in his roots.

• Qing'er teased Yu Ziyu for trying to use toxins against a honey badger and explained that mutated ones had extreme toxin resistance.
• Qing'er shared her memories of He Ling'er arriving at an underground city called the Spiritual Energy Research Institute.
• Yu Ziyu learned that the Institute researched spiritual energy and trained Transcendents, and that He Ling'er had attracted the professors’ attention.
• He Ling'er’s psychic talent let her master a human language and a difficult cultivation method in hours, earning her more resources and close supervision.
• Yu Ziyu realized Qing'er had been burdened with intense study, and Qing'er fell asleep in his roots.

Yu Ziyu continued nurturing Qing'er, confident that her dependence on his roots made her a trusted ally, while he spent months expanding his fog and strengthening his branches. By winter, his branches reached a hundred meters and gave him overwhelming close-range strength, leaving him confident that no equal could survive within his reach.

• Yu Ziyu watched Qing'er sleep and concluded that her human and nonhuman advantages, combined with her resources, would make her powerful.
• Yu Ziyu continued nurturing Qing'er's soul with his roots and life essence, believing she depended on him and would become his trusted confidante.
• Months passed as Yu Ziyu maintained the fog across hundreds of mountain ranges and used evolution points to strengthen his branches.
• Yu Ziyu's branches reached Lv2, extended about a hundred meters, and numbered over a hundred, giving him confidence that he could kill any comparable foe who entered his range.

Yu Ziyu considered how the emergence of First, Second, and Third Order Transcendents threatened humanity and imagined his own rise to a powerful Second Order. The chapter ended with humanity facing an uncertain future as mutated creatures continued to evolve.

• Yu Ziyu reflected that he was near the peak of the First Order and could approach the Second Order after strengthening his roots and using Evolution Points.
• Humans had learned that First Order Transcendents could resist most firearms, after a mutated octopus near Sakura Country sank a cargo ship.
• Researchers from hundreds of nations concluded that becoming a First Order Transcendent was extremely difficult, but the Huaxia Federation and the Free Alliance discovered that Second Order Transcendents existed.
• Yu Ziyu considered how powerful Second Order beings could destroy cities and how Third Order Transcendents might threaten entire nations or require great powers to respond.
• Yu Ziyu concluded that humanity’s weapons gave it an advantage for now, but humans risked being overtaken by evolving Transcendent creatures.

Yu Ziyu worried that a transcendent third-order beast would draw humanity’s attention and considered the risks of his own coming breakthrough. He then observed He Qing’er’s rapid growth and increasingly complicated feelings toward him.

• Yu Ziyu anticipated that a disaster-level mutated beast might reach the transcendent third order and distract humanity from him.
• Yu Ziyu considered how his roots could unleash a devastating earthquake, though using that trump card could leave him nearly finished.
• He Qing’er asked Yu Ziyu whether he liked snow and approached his true body.
• Yu Ziyu reflected that He Qing’er had grown powerful and famous as He Ling’er, while her human persona had made her feelings toward him increasingly complex.

Yu Ziyu learned that humans had discovered a Spirit Stone Mine in the Northwest Region, potentially allowing them to accelerate cultivation and catch up with transcendent creatures. Alarmed, he assessed his powerful aerial pets and decided to send them hunting as he prepared to strengthen his forces.

• Qing'er told Yu Ziyu that more than a dozen Spiritual Energy Research Institutes were fighting over a newly discovered Spirit Stone Mine in the Northwest Region.
• Qing'er explained that spirit stones contained pure spiritual energy that humans could absorb to accelerate cultivation, and Yu Ziyu feared humans would soon catch up with other transcendent creatures.
• Yu Ziyu considered the threat and concluded that he needed to speed up his own progress and make preparations.
• Eight Peregrine Falcons, all entry-level seven, arrived in the sky above Yu Ziyu, while the entry-level six White Crane rested in the Spirit Lake.
• Yu Ziyu sent information through his branches, ordering his pets to go hunting.